OA Board - this year's Board

Arik - Editor

Arik is a designer in various media including UI/UX/web design, illustration, and woodworking. He enjoys evolutionary biology, all art made in the classical tradition, and making better tools for people.

Chris Shaeffer - Secretary (Business)

Chris started his SF addiction as a young child watching television with his grandfather. In those early days the fiction was far more fascinating than the science. Cool ships, blaster pistols, and weird aliens were the call of the day. As the years passed Chris read more than a few books and comics, watched a vast array of movies, a bit of anime, and of course a lot more television. Over the decades following Chris grew to appreciate the science of the SF experience, exploring the wonderous world of the truly possible. Make no mistake though, he is still a fan of the fast paced space opera fleet battle and blaster fights. It's just that now the very real possibilities of the near and distant future are every bit as miraculous and entertaining as anything yet imagined. With that Chris found a home here at Orion's Arm.

Geek Code: GWB >H++ OA++++ M+++ L+++ P+ B- S++ D+ Sp+++ SF++ ~TS

Ryan B - Executive Moderator; Secretary (membership)

Stephen Inniss - President, Moderator, Editor

Stephen Inniss relishes this peculiar opportunity to speak of himself in the third person. He started reading science fiction and fantasy shortly after he learned to read. He has been a researcher, prospector, and agricultural worker, and at one point he even wrote some material for one of the larger RPG companies. Though he did remain with a mining company long enough to find a small copper deposit, he did not stay long term and full time in any of these fields. Stephen's first degree was in the life sciences. Later, when he wanted a steadier work and better pay, he acquired various other certificates and qualifications, and later took a Masters degree in a completely unrelated field. This allows him to make a good living using early 21st century memetic engineering techniques. (No, not sales or advertising, and not politics either).

Steve Bowers - Executive Editor, Moderator

...a spacemad, madman who lives in York, England with his wife and two daughters, and has read too much science fiction but wants to read even more. Maps to the futures that will never happen but should. He works in a Control Office but prefers to lose control when he can.

Todd Drashner - Treasurer, Moderator, Editor

Todd A. Drashner was born and raised in the semi-wilds of Alaska, first got into science fiction at age 9 when he picked up a copy of Clarke's Childhood's End in a bored moment. Has been hooked on SF ever since. Generally prefers 'hard' science fiction that is still not afraid to think big. Went to college at University of Arizona, Tucson intending to become engineer and discovered that higher mathematics just doesn't compute for him. Switched to English and graduated in 1993, but always remained avid science and science fiction fan. Encountered Drexler's Engines of Creation in college along with trans and post-humanism and Vinge's Singularity concept. When he grows up he wants to be a Power.

Current interests include reading, working out, music (hard rock to classical, no rap please), and thinking about the future. Discovering Orion's Arm one of happier moments of life to date. Currently lives in the Tidewater Region of Virginia and works as an Instructional Designer for a large local corporation.

Trond Nilsen - Vice-President, Technical Advisor, CMS Developer

Trond is a freelance researcher, software engineer, and game designer, and a PhD candidate at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he is working on generative and intelligent educational games for teaching human anatomy using Semantic Web technologies.

Trond has been with Orion's Arm almost since its inception - after joining in early 2001, he became the group's system admin and treasurer in 2002. Since then, his role has evolved into general technical advice and software development, culminating in the development of dedicated management tools for Orion's Arm's vast mass of content.

Outside OA, Trond is an avid gamer and researcher, working on a range of projects in augmented reality, game design, computer vision, and educational technology. In addition, Trond suffers from terminal distraction, and is actively interested in a range of other topics, including philosophy, history, biology, cosmology, and mathematics.

Senior Members - active former Board members

Adam Getchell

AI Vin

the AI Vin is yet another alias of a mysterious entity who has given so many pseudonyms in his WEB life even he can't tell fact from fiction anymore. It has been rumored he is a Free Citizen of The Republic of Cascadia.

Bernd Helfert

Bernd Helfert is a German designer who got hooked by the Kheper website, following to Orion's Arm. "I have always been excited watching sci fi movies from the 70's. I experienced THX1138 and Dark Star, New York 1999 and the Omega Man being broadcast on my teenage tiny b/w portable TV set, sitting stunned on my bed. And don't forget about books: back issues of 50s + 60s pulp magazines best, Cordwainer Smith, Philip K. Dick, Frank Herbert and Stanislaw Lem. Even Orwell + Huxley gave me kicks." And today? of course he is still paying attention to the Gibsons and Stephensons, the Sterlings, Egans and Jeff Noons of the new millennium as he can't write stories by himself - but at least create images.

Graham Hopgood

Graham Hopgood is in his mid-twenties, lives in the UK and currently works in London for a charity helping young people find employment in financial services. Graham's been getting involved with OA for a few years now, and is one of the contributing authors for the recent Orion's Arm novella collection.

John M. Dollan

John M. Dollan was born on April 17, 1970 at some point in the early hours (which likely explains his almost pathological fear of waking up before 8am). From a very early age he gained a love of the unknown, spawning an interest in the sciences that was heavily encouraged by his Father and his work in the National Forest and Park Services. From there, the leap to science fiction was easy, although the further side step into a fanatic for bad monster and science fiction movies remains unexplained. Having achieved a degree in English at Montana State University-Northern, he is currently working on his ArcBuilder Universe, an attempted hard science fiction setting. The Planetary Classification List, designed for that setting, has gained some renown in the appropriate online communities, and it is his honor to have it modified and used in Orion's Arm as well. All of his projects can be found at his website, Explorations. John himself is married to his high school girlfriend Margo, and together they have three children (Liam Martin, Jackson Rhys, and Moira Sophie-Faith. John himself aspires to become immortal through various genetic tweaks and mind uploading technologies, but it remains on his "To Do List", right after "learn Portuguese".

Mark Ryherd

Mark Ryherd is a biont who graduated from The University of Iowa with a B.S. in Microbiology and is currently employed as a flow cytometrist. He became a fan of SF in middle school after watching old Doctor Who and Red Dwarf episodes. While still enjoying the softer side of SF he eventually worked his was up the 'Mohs Scale of SF Hardness' to stumble across Orion's Arm. He became a contributor to the OAUP to improve his creative writing skills and to discuss tropes used is SF. His interest include history (especially the Hellenistic Period), paleontology, linguistics, gaming (board, card, and video), and cooking.

Contributors - all other members past & present

A Pork Chop

A. C. Maté

Aaron Hamilton

Aaron Hamilton created material for the OA project based on this website.

Addemup

AlanSE

Alex Mulvey

Alphadon

Anders Finer

Home Page Some other art by Anders Finerhttp://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameartist/14596/anders-finerhttp://fantasygallery.net/finer/

Andrew P.

Andrew is currently a student at the University of California - Santa Cruz. As astrobiologists aren't in high demand at the moment, he plans to settle for studying the lifeforms of his own planet's oceans as a marine biologist.

Avengium

Ángel's interest in both science and myth is initially demonstrated by his nickname: Avengium. This grew out of two earlier nicknames: Paladium - A trojan statue of Pallas Athena (the Paladion) and the periodic element Pd 46 - and another nickname: Avangel.

Ángel grew up reading ancient myths and legends and playing video games about castles and mages. In his teen years, he discovered his passion for planets and space and started to read anything he could find about aliens and other planets. While Angel developed a love for creature catalogs and D&D bestiaries, science and knowledge also began to attract his attention and with each discovery his horizons broadened a little more.

Exposure to so many wonders and facts eventually caused an urge in Ángel to express his imagination in the form of writings and tales covering the most varied topics.

One day, by chance, he found OA and discovered a site difficult to understand at first, but deeply interesting with time. Today Angel's horizons keep broadening.

Basu

Basu is the biological shell of an pre-singularity mind. This 'shell' is somewhere in the middle of what humans call the "teens". When the mind gathers some currency it wants to trade in this shell for something more lasting (say a few thousand years at least) and more efficient. In the meanwhile, the mind is interested in stuff such as physics, computers, medieval fantasy literature and of course the strange yet interesting concepts called "science fiction" and "philosophy". The mind is also considering studying something mundane and attending a thing that humans call "college" in the hope of getting something called a "job" (preferably one that brings him lots of currency). The shell is so useless that the mind prefers not to comment much on it. The mind also hopes to become a Godling and eventually participate in the Omega Point (if it gets a better shell that is). Discovered OA by accident while looking for information on destructive futuristic weaponry. His blog may be found here. Geek Code Version 3.12: GU d- s+:+a--- C+(++) W+ w+ PS+ PE++ Y+ t+(++) 5? X R tvb+(+++) D? D+ G>+++ e->St h! r(fr) z?

OA Version: 1.0.1: GCW>H++OA+++M+++L+P++B+S+D-Sp+++SF++TS?

Ben Higginbottom

Ben Higginbottom - Electronics engineer and archetypical nerd, has watched and read far, far too much science fiction, regional director of the Illuminati in the north west of England (we don't need orbital mind control lasers when Manchester United can be used to keep the proles in line), the scream of "Arrrgh when did I get old" can still be heard echoing around the hills of Lancashire when learning that the last series of Doctor Who was screened twelve years ago.

Bill Glover

Bill makes his living explaining simple concepts to complex people who tend to work for large companies. Bill believes that anything you do three times should be scripted, and that if a piece of code is 100 lines long it can probably be done better in10. Bill is a Pisces who enjoys long walks in the hills, full personal state vector uploads, and chatting about completely harmless things over strong, public key encryption. His website is here.

He was immediately captured, and subjected to lengthy sessions of intellectual torture by a group known as "The Brains." During each of these torture sessions, Charles' brain was painfully extracted, dissected, and on occasion - exploded. Supposedly, this was all done in the name and interest of "hard science." Prior to his capture, Charles' interests included American constitutional law, poetry, writing, and on rare occasion - chess. While languishing in captivity, held prisoner against what remained of his will by "The Brains," his interests were reduced solely to watching Jell-O form in a bowl (Strawberry with pineapple chunks only, please!). Charles managed to recently escape from the evil clutch of "The Brains," by unexpectedly unleashing a nano-swarm of message postings in the Orion's Arm discussion group. His current location is unknown, but "The Brains" are believed to be close to tracking him down, so that they may resume their scientific experiments.

Chinedum Ofoegbu

Chinedum Ofoegbu is a product of arcane genetic experiments, designed to produce a 75% emotionless, but otherwise "normal" lifeform. Instead, a being with diamond for brain, nitrogen for blood and the coldest hardest steel for a heart was injected into the population.

As he grew older and more dangerous, it soon became clear that, left unchecked, his machine-like disregard for his fellow man would result in global domination. Thus it was that higher intellects, in a desperate bid to sidetrack his growing powers, introduced him to Iain M. Banks and other purveyors of science fiction. Thus it was that he inevitably ended up here.

They have only postponed the inevitable.

Chris0033547

Crossroads

D. David Barbeau

D. David Barbeau grew up on science fiction, beginning with Star Trek and then was a Star Wars geek for a few years before graduating to novels like the Dune and Foundation series. The creation of the Sci Fi Channel helped him to begin his interest in scifi. He had been looking quite awhile for a space opera site before he found Orion's Arm. He is currently (besides writing for Orion's Arm) attending classes in hopes of someday getting a job and making enough money to buy his own personal island chain in the Seychelles Islands

Dagon

D A G O N (Version February 2006) - this "dagon" individual is a highly distracted 41-year old bipolar from the Netherlands. Used to be hip and trendy but has grown intense, morose and cynical. Has been worldbuilding (escaping from mundane reality) since age 10, and early creations were undeniably Transhuman ... but these earliest stories had, as can be expected, many soft-SF qualities. Would love to use slow but steady artistic output as illustrator for real movie concept art one day. Considers self to be an ultrahard right winger Extropian (as long as the welfare system keeps flowing). Would love to be uploaded and get a thorough, "reconstructive" reformatting.

Niven fan, though Gibson, S.K.Robinson and Sterling evoke massive smiles as well. Started out with O'Neil's High frontier and so steadily flowed into hard, extropian ways of looking at SF... Space colonization radical. A very debased human being over all.

Daniel Eliot Boese

Daniel lives in the Niagara region of southern Ontario, Canada as an urban hermit, a libertarian monarchist, a licensed ham, the official Star Lord, a Potentate of the Rose, and an ordained minister in the First Church of Atheism. He plans to live forever or die trying, and finds the idea of being permanently stuck as a hairless primate an unsatisfying lifestyle choice.

Daniel Harle

Daniel Harle (aka Daniel Snarl, Harle, Harlequins, Snarlequins, Snarl, Quins and Maniacal Fishman) can be found in random places around the world, but most commonly in a small village in the North East of England, or on the internet on his (thus-far incomplete) website www.maniacalfishman.tk. Young Daniel is an avid fan of metal music, with such bands as System of a Down, Mudvayne, Metallica, Iron Maiden and Rammstein appearing in his record collection. Daniel is a fan on Final Fantasy games, and is currently writing a science-fiction novel, which as of yet lacks a title. If you want to learn more about him, and have first checked yourself into a mental asylum for having such thoughts, consult the Me, Myself and Maniacal Fishman on Daniel's website. Enjoy.

Darren Ryding

Darren Ryding was born and raised in Western Australia. He graduated from Curtin University with a Bachelors degree in English, majoring in Creative Writing. In the years since, he has had a handful of short works published, mostly in Australian fanzines. After writing, Darren's second favourite hobby is digital artwork, particularly 3D animation and photomanipulation (although he swears that the tiger photo is real).

Dave Dietzler

David Hallberg

David M. Kueny

Dieter Ludmann

Domagoj K

Elliot Schutjer

Enrique Lescure

Eric Lo

Eric Lo, a.k.a, "Quakfusion", is the list's resident objectivist.

Ernst Stavro Blofeld

""Well, if we destroy Kansas, the world might not hear about it for a few years""Hi, I'm Blofeld, you might remember me from such films as "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and "Diamonds are Forever". Due to the exploits of a secret agent, who's name is no secret to anybody, my organisation has suffered but it still lives on. As the Prodigy once sed, "I've decided to take my work back underground, to stop it falling into the wrong hands!"

Espen Antonsen

Johnny Nanonic, a.k.a Espen Antonsen, was a Star Wars/Trek fan for years before he stumbled upon Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, and since then he's never been quite the same. He is currently studying computer science and has delusions of becoming a professional writer. While waiting for the miracle that will allow this to happen he do things like worldbuilding.

Extherian

Fendy Sutandio

Fendy Sutandio is an Indonesian student of mathematics and computer programming. He can communicate in computer code better than he can communicate in human language, a reason why he likes contributing programs better than contributing stories. In fact it took him hours to write this very short biography. His interest is in the use of mathematics for generating artistic (or not so artistic) images, and learning foreign culture, history and languages.

FrodoGoofball

FrodoGoofball is a baseline human who accidentally discovered the Orion's Arm project while searching for information on space habitats and decided it was more interesting than his former web pursuits. His current home page is here.

HÃ¥kan Andersson

IA190

Infinitee Designs

Isaac Arthur

Ithuriel

James Philps

James Philps was born in British Columbia, Canada, on December 13, 1989. He spent alot of time in movie theaters, watching all the blockbuster films that defined the 90s: Jurassic park, the lion king, toy story, independence day, lost world, men in black, godzilla, the prince of egypt, etc. As the new millenium came around, James became increasingly interested in written science fiction, with the surprisingly mature animorphs series serving as a catalyst. He tended to focus on works of sci fi that had alot of conflict present in them, with military themed plots being the most favored. When he turned 20, James learned about the concept of a singularity and the potential emergence of superintelligence. He frequently read the work of Eliezer Yudkowsky, and was incredulous at the future that was predicted by him. To make matters worse, he then discovered the orions arm encyclopedia, and read their dissertation on intertoposophic conflict. James was again astonished by what he read. After a failed attempt to prove (to his own satisfaction) that such theorys were groundless, he began to feel very small and vulnerable. He was merely an ant, after all. An ant in a world that would soon be filled with superhuman goliaths...

James Ramsey

James Joseph Michael Ramsey a.k.a. LordRavenHawk a.k.a. JamieMage is a 21 year old from the rural parts of the eastern Tennessee and Kentucky mountains. Philosopher, dreamer, thinker, and sometimes artist. Interests include just about anything intellectually stimulating. Also Recent addition to the Fur net communities. Preferred interests, world building, writing, drawing, internet, fur art (especially felinoids) and anything with cinnamon in it. Psychic gifts remote viewing, empathy, memory reading, past reading, body reading, astral projectionist, as well as minor precog abilities. Dreams of having cybernetic implants so he never has to be disconnected from the internet and so he can remember where he put his shoes.

James Rogers

James Ward

James Ward has been into SF for as long as he can remember, and into creating it for several years now. Currently enrolled in Appalachian State University in NC, he claims he's getting close to publishing a story. If he could just keep focused, that is.

Jay Dugger

Jay Dugger a.k.a. Til Eulenspiegel

John Edds

Geek. Graphic Designer.

John Snead

After getting degrees in Math, History, and Anthropology, John Snead became one of a number of disillusioned grad students who learned that he could have better job security and more fun writing about aliens and magicians than about cultural anthropology. As such he is now a professional freelance writer of role-playing games.

He is also a 3rd degree Wiccan priest, a serious SF fan, a gourmet cook, and a geeky eccentric. With favorite authors like Linda Nagata, Iain M. Banks, and Gregory Benford, OA was a natural interest. John also recommends books by Alastair Reynolds, Melissa Scott, Ken McLeod, and Karl Schroeder to folks who like OA.

Of course, the fact that John occasionally takes a break from paying RPG projects to help tinker with the OA RPG rules combines both geekyness and eccentricity beyond all reason. In his mundane existence, John lives in Portland Oregon, USA.

Jonathan Burns

Jonathan Burns (informally Jonno) was born in the year of the Hydrogen Bomb. Watched Sputnik from the front lawn. Brought up in Canberra, Australia with two-year stays in London and Princeton NJ.

Jorge Ditchkenberg

Jorge Ditchkenberg is an alien mind residing in a spaceship orbiting Earth, which is periodically telepathically overtaking a geek on the surface. The poor puppet thinks that he will gain something out of it.

Puppet does bioinformatics for the living, and likes bird watching and travel in his spare time.

Jules H-G

Julia Harrison

Keith Halperin

Keith Wigdor

Keith Wigdor: HUMAN Born: August 10, 1965

"I recently exhibited at GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY on August 18, 2002 in an Exhibit/Faculty Presentation called, "THE OMEGA POINT" based on the writings of French Theologian and Philosopher, Tielhard de Chardin. "THE OMEGA POINT" was run by Chief Scientist Aliana J.Maren (www.theeagleforce.com) who used my artwork, "REPRESENTATION OF COGNITION IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE" for the exhibit/faculty presentation. You can see this artwork online at THE HAMMOND GALLERY (www.hammondgallery.co.uk) My Artwork also appeared in CHURN ART MAGAZINE, one issue with ROGER DEAN and another issue along with the Legendary H.R.GIGER and Horror Artists, MIKE BOHATCH and CANIGLIA( both are friends as well). I am also friends with GREG BEAR who I occasionally show my most rare pieces, (I dedicated a couple to Greg) and I am a Contributor to the Surreal/Horror Underground E-Zine, THE DREAM PEOPLE (www.dreampeople.org). I will be creating the next CD Cover for the Industrial Trance Band Distant Sun ( I create all the art for their website as well), so please stay tuned, http://www.metalforums.com/~distantsun I did the Cover Art for THE SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY WRITERS ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE, "THE BULLETIN" winter issue 2001 (www.sfwa.org) and I am a Huge Science Fiction Fan and I just love Orions Arm!!!"

Liam Jones

"The Cat's Whiskers" or Liam Jones, has been interested in Science Fiction, and science since a very young age. He spends most of his time using a computer, and plans to become an upload sometime in the next century. He lives in a relatively obscure town in the United Kingdom.

Loopquanta

Loopquanta137 has contributed several stories to the OA universe.

Geek CodeGWB/GCW >H++ OA++++ M+++ L+ P+ B+++ S+ D- Sp+++ SF++ TS?

Dr. Luke Campbell

Luke Campbell is a practising computational and theoretical physicist specializing in electronic excitations in condensed matter.He has had a lifelong interest in science fiction, including a particular fascination with ray guns. When not trying to convince a computer to predict the behavior of matter, he has been known to dabble in the visual arts, and he enjoys the company of exotic pets.

MacGregor

Marcel Lossi

Marcus RauchfuÃŸ

Marcus Rauchfuß describes himself as follows:

I'm 30 yeas old, currently residing in Munich with my fiancee, we are both goths and sci-fi buffs.

Martin Andreas Cieslik

Martin Andreas Cieslik says about himself

I am Martin Andreas Cieslik, aka MAC or Aethertaeter. I was born on. I was born on December 4, 1980 in Freiburg in Southern Germany. Spent most of my childhood in a nice little town close to Duesseldorf, southern rim of the Ruhr industrialized zone.

I had always been interested in sciences, especially if there were fun effects like sparks, fire or explosions. Thus I took math and physics as my major subjects for graduation. Then I served my ten months in the German Air Force, or Bundesluftwaffe, being a pencil soldier after eight weeks of boot camp.

Currently I am enrolled as a process engineering student at the Technical University of Clausthal. That is pretty much chemical engineering with a little more machine construction and thermal processing added.

Since about age ten I am addicted to SciFi literature after starting to read the classics out of my father's book case (Asimov, Clarke and German Hans Dominik mainly). The scientific ideas always fascinated me. Especially after I had decided to become an engineer I always tried to think about how it could be done. When I had first contact with universes like shadowrun and battletech I realized that the background worldbuilding was so much more interesting than the actually stories. One day I was looking for some data on megascale engineering projects and came across the site of the one true superbright of our time, Anders Sandberg. Obviously I was instantly hooked and thus had to absorb OA (that could be done in a week back then, at least the basics of everything) and wrote a couple of comments to Alan about some things, He invited me onto the list and now I am here. Geek Code

OA Version: 1.0.1 >H+ OA++ M+++ L++ P B+ S++ D- SP+++ TS++

Matthew C. Johnson

Matthew C. Johnson, known online as Ares Johnson

Born June 30, 1987 in New England

Call him a geek or a nerd, he won't mind, he's proud of it. Fairly curious even at an early age, a general interest in dinosaurs as a child evolved into a fascination with Mars and space early in High School and later biology and science in general. His greatest interests are reading science fiction, watching anime, playing video games and working on his own sci-fi universe, The Garden Universe. Using newfound knowledge for XHTML and CSS, he has recently begun working on upgrading his website and hopes to one day get the Garden Universe published in some way. He is currently working toward becoming a High School biology teacher. He has also lately begun learning programs such as Terragen 2 and generally dabbling in graphic arts.

Michael Beck

Michael Beck has graduated from New York University, and am now studying graduate math at SUNY Stony Brook. His interests are math, writing, and well, that's it. He has recently completed his own science fiction-setting, Lungfish Alpha, also available on egroups. A mixture of ribofunk, space opera, occultism and some truly original ideas, it's an excellent setting. Currently he is working on his next big Worldbuilding project, Planet Exists

Michael Boncher

Whether it is singing with the Appleton Boy choir's men's chorus, the Mastersingers, studying art at UW Oshkosh, teaching himself the art of website and graphic design or writing short stories and RPG supplements, Michael Boncher has been involved in the arts for most of his life.

While in college, Michael did comic book storyboarding and scripting with other local area artists, wrote an unpublished novella and a small set of short stories. He first taught himself how to use computer graphic programs by colorizing black and white photographs. Determined to use his artistic skill in business, he began to learn the new art of website development. Since then, he has developed over 25 websites and worked on hundreds of advertising projects.

A few years, Michael discovered 3D Graphic Illustration. Excited by the new tools for creating fine art, he has thrown himself head first into the new medium. The results of this are now yours to enjoy.

Recently, he discovered Orion's Arm when searching for information on Nanotechnology, and became enamored with its concept and desired greatly to help make OA the next big SF franchise.

Michael Capriola

M.K. Capriola, Jr is the pen name for writers Michelle Maus and Penelope Arcade, and artist April Phool. They are currently working on getting funding from the Radical Lesbian Front for a pilgrimage to Lesbos, which is their way of spending the winter in Greece while getting someone else to pay for it.

Michael Jones

My name is Michael Jones, and I was actually directed to the OA worldbuilding list list from a very soft SciFi story-debate forum after asking a question on Wormholes. I like to think of myself as an amateur SciFi author, and your setting has inspired me. I hate commercial TV SciFi for the drivel it produces, and have long searched for a more realistic SciFi setting. I'm a registered nurse with an interest in anatomy and physiology - and I guess you could say my "specialty" is xenobiology, because I love fleshing out (heh - pun) alien races and biology in a scientifically plausible, utterly non-bipedal way. I'm 25 years old, and I work at the Childrens Hospital at Westmead, in Sydney, NSW, Australia. My lifestyle with work is very busy, so much to my dismay I haven't had much time for SciFi reading for a couple of years now. Before that, my favourite authors were relatively soft SciFi - Anne McCaffrey, among others. My tastes have certainly matured since them - the exposure of the internet has helped...*grin*.

Michael LaTorra

Michele Dutcher

Having grown up with an older brother who was a Star Trek fanatic (complete with 3-D chess board), going where no one has gone before seems quite natural to Michele. She has a Bachelors of Science from Indiana University with minors in Sociology, Art, and Religious Studies (make college the best decade of your life). She lives in a carriage house in the South (well, Southern Indiana) with a very lady-like English Spaniel, and two very evil cats.

She has been published multiple times in Bewildering Stories ezine, Quantum Muse, Aphelion, Voices/Future Tense, and AlienSkin (R.I.P.). She is currently working hard to sell her novels (A Fisherman’s Guide to Bottom Dwellers and Five Minutes Before) to a big-time agent for your basic rich and famous contract. She’s not giving up her day job, yet – which is working as an Administrative Assistant.

Mikael Johansson

Mikael Johansson is studying Latin and mathematics at the university of Stockholm.

Mike Miller

Materials Engineer

Mike Parisi

Michael Henry Parisi was born: 6-17-1972, and graduated Rhode Island College with a B. S. in Management. Everyone he knows says he bears a striking resemblance to Clark Kent. He has been interested in sci-fi from an early age (at least since he was 5 or 6). Not really serious about it until 1995 or 1996 when began writing short SF stories with a decidedly Hard SF bent for own amusement. Once got part of one of his stories published in my college newspaper, The Anchor. Other interests include Professional Wrestling (favorite wrestler: "The Game" Triple-H) and Karaoke (favorite song to do: "Beat It" by Michael Jackson, which I put my own unique spin on). All his stories contain a generous amount of knock-down-drag-out action and steamy sex scenes (where appropriate).

Personal Outlook: Not an atheist by any measure, but has been a skeptic at least since was 5 or 6; sees himself as a nondenominational Deist or an agnostic, and considers that no one blind man can have entirely the correct impression of the whole elephant. Favorite Movies: Ruthless People, Aliens, and Die Hard. Favorite Book: Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card. Current Occupation: (besides worldbuilding and story writing): Security Officer (which gives him lots of time to think about worldbuilding and story writing).

Morgan Heacock

Negativnein

Octachoron

Octachoron is a student of philosophy and science with a transhumanist bent.

Omega Tyrant

Peter Kisner

Peter Peter D Kisner Majored in biology and sculpture in college. Worked in maintenance, warehouse, retail book sales, and hellish clerical work before following my girlfriend to Boston to get lab assistant work at the Whitehead Institute center for genomic studies (sounds exciting maybe, but really just entails mixing stock solutions). If anyone asks I prefer they believe I run the genetic engineering division in charge of two headed cat design.

Still trying to pursue spirituality among the Christians. Trying to design my own role-playing game(s) from scratch or find one that fits my infinitely demanding criteria (for a list of criteria just ask), and the "Galactic Noir"-White Wolf derived side project. Also, trying to jot down a few stories, spawn a couple of universes, and find a few folks interested in RPGs within the area around Boston.

Phil B

PortalHunter

QwertyYerty

I have a undergraduate degree in Government and Politics. However, I was an aerospace engineering major for three years before embracing my interest in international politics. So I have a huge interest in the intersection of technology and Geopolitics, and I am interested in how technology will affect international politics and power dynamics. I am an Eagle Scout and a (probably still) certified scuba diver. I was on a FIRST Robotics team, volunteered for Relay for Life for seven years, was a member of the National Honor Society in high school, and at one point had a motor boating license.

Radtech497

Radtech497 first attained consciousness along the western coast of the Atlantic Ocean in those far-off days just before the first human left the Earth's atmosphere, though he tends to state his age as "older than dirt" (to use the correct geological terminology). Long a fan of science fiction (in both visual and print forms), this has led to an incurable interest in science and technology which later spread to various other fields of knowledge. He became a Radiological Survey Technologist (hence the name) and worked at the Nevada Test Site for a while, then joined the military for another while, before deciding to give college another try. Went to the University of Texas at El Paso with the intention of becoming a computer engineer, but a change of heart led to a degree in special education (BSEd, 1990). Since then, he has been trying to adapt young humans to life in the environments they find themselves in. He spends what little free time is available cobbling together planets for relaxation (and occasionally a few lifeforms that might inhabit them), as well as trying to keep up with such things as might interest him at the moment. Radtech497 discovered Orion's Arm during an internet fishing expedition related to world-building, took up residence, and, like a persistent infection, refuses to leave. Radtech497's human avatar still teaches children with severe disabilities in the Star City (El Paso, Texas) and even manages to sneak in the odd bit of science fiction from time to time.

Rhea 47

Richard Baker

Richard Patterson

ROM 65536

Rudolf Herczcog

Sean White

SeanR

Selden Ball

Somes Jung Hallinan

Tapio Erola

Terrafamilia

I'm a forty-something sf/comics geekboy who doesn't want to grow up. I'm also apparently one of the few Star Trek fans who found enjoyment in Voyager in spite of it all (all us trekkies now what I'm talking about :-)). My reading preferences run towards superheroes and space opera, whether hard or soft, though I also enjoy some out and out fantasy as well. Non-fiction favorites range from nano-speculation to history, especially that dealing with everyday life and culture rather than the Big Important Events. What I mainly want from the hopefully inevitable nanotech revolution are an expert mathematics brain implant, my entire library and comic book collection compiled into one slim high-resolution interactive volume with associated VR system, and a heroic physique complete with the oft dreamed of but never achieved washboard abs. ^_^

Terry Robinson

Graphics artist based in London, Earth

The Astronomer

Thorbørn Steen

Thorbørn Steen (alias Rubberduck), originates from the land of vikings, bridges and dairy products; Denmark. While he has generally decided that reality is too boring to divert much attention to, he does believe that he would make a nice world dictator. Or million dollar lottery winner. He ain't picky.

He reads lots of books of every kind, whenever he isn't glued to his computer playing games, participating in online roleplaying or working on one of the million projects, of which only a minuscule percentage is going to get finished. Considering the fact that he uses close to 16 hours a day in front of the computer it is surprising that he knows nothing of RAM, defragging and other such mysterious techie terms.

When he can drag himself away from his computer or other projects, he currently attends university, trying to learn a bit of physics, so that he might get a better idea of how the universe is put together.

Tom Mazanec

Vaktus

Wesley Bruce

His blog can be found here

Xaonon

Jim Wisniewski a.k.a. Xaonon, can quote extensively from the works of both Monty Python and Larry Niven. He studies Esperanto and Klingon, is learning to work with C++, perl, and Linux, and contributes to the Orion's Arm project on the rare occasions when he has a good idea. He spends the rest of his time in his studently duties, learning everything he can in the hopes that it might someday get him a job.

Emeritus Members - inactive former Board members

Anders Sandberg

Anders Sandberg is an obsessive worldbuilder, ever since starting out with making roleplaying worlds in the 80s he has written a large number of science fiction scenarios, as well as future studies scenario building. He considers the creation of worlds, be they literary scenarios or simulated universes, to be one of the greatest pleasures in existence. His other interests include physics, astronomy, biomedicine, psychology, complexity theory, art, science fiction, roleplaying, computer graphics, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, information visualization, intelligence amplification technologies, and the philosophy and politics of human enhancement.

He holds a Ph.D. in computational neuroscience from Stockholm University and is currently postdoctoral research assistant for the Oxford group of the EU ENHANCE Project at the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and research associate at the Future of Humanity Institute (Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University).

He is co-founder of and writer for the think tank Eudoxa. Between 1996 and 2000 he was Chairman of the Swedish Transhumanist Association.

Dr. Bill Ernoehazy

Bill Ernoehazy, founder and first editor of the OA webzine Voices/Future Tense, is an emergency medicine specialist in Jacksonville Florida and environs. His fannish pursuits also include presenting at SF conventions on medicine in and of space (he was once a NASA/Univ of Florida Physician Affiliate), martial arts as they're portrayed in genre fiction (he is a researcher in medieval German combat styles), and punditry on futuristic developments. A neophile, he keeps a delighted eye on transhumanist, nanotechnological, and extropian groups and authors.

David Jackson

David Jackson lives in Reno, Nevada, with his wife and his baby daughter. He is a programmer for International Game Technology. He has been passionate about reading and writing science fiction for most of his life, and has been a happy acolyte of the Orion's Arm project since he discovered it several years ago.

Donna Malcolm Hirsekorn

Donna Malcolm Hirsekorn is with Alan the co-founder of OA.

I am a Writer and Artist forming words and art with lines that go beneath the surface of humanity. When I draw lines I define form and shape, thus enhancing the compositions by creating rhythm. By deepening dimensions of space, the lines become intuitive and bring order into my chaotic universe.

By writing with lines my worlds become defined and my characters are placed in settings that describe their realities. Humanity is the source of the pioneering spirit in the OA universe. Keeping humanity alive in the future and in the depths of other galaxies and universes give a rational meaning to evolution of humankind in the future. With the perfection of lines comes balance, harmony, unity, and variety. Without developing these principles, intrinsic in humanity, then OA will be a vastly hollow place that is as cold as a black hole.

I have created art my entire life from the early age of seven. Writing often takes a backseat to the pursuit of abstractions coming from peace in my soul when I have brush and paint in my hands. Colors bursting from the surface planes of paper and canvas fill me with energy and freshness. The opposite is true in my writing as pure energy takes over when the keyboard or pen begins to move, rapping out words that are often automatically extracted from the self that is deep within me and as a result peace is found in my fundamental core. I create human characters that live in the realm of the OA universe. Keeping humanity alive is my objective and day by day routines are an important aspect of life in the future and are key to my storylines.

Life has created many ruts in the road and digging out has taken the form of introspection and the ability to formulate words that breathe life into characters that everyone can relate to. Esoteric poetry is a hobby that is inspired by the gentle breezes of the wind passing over the terrain of earth and the horizons of earth and sky coming together to form an endless whole. The rhythm of life gives shape to the future and the continuation of humankind.

Fernando Peña D'Andrea

Fernando Peña D'Andrea was born and still lives in Porto Alegre, Brasil, and has 25 years. He works as artist in a Brasil settled computer game company. Has recently (2002) concluded his graduation in Computer Science by the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, but is interested in and likes to study a wide variety of topics and themes, like Physics, Linguistics, History, Astronomy, Cabbalah, etc. Likes reading several kinds of books, science fiction included, and consider himself to be giving his first baby-steps in this area. He thinks that any story or setting has to be very believable and detailed to be immersive, and hates seeing movies and shows where things he knows that doesn't makes any sense happening. One day, wandering in the internet after information to create a setting for a computer game he was planning to do, he stumbled in Orion's Arm website. Since that day, he understood what he has never liked in Star-trek but never realized, and also what science-fiction should really be.

Grant Thomas

Grant Thomas has Been Interested Science-fiction, probably since age 10 or earlier. He remembers watching the Old Star trek Series, but was great fan of the Old British Scifi tv shows Like UFO,Thunderbirds, and Dr Who and the Much later Blake 7 and Tripods. He has played Role-playing games for about 15 years , Mostly traveller and table-top Space games. Other interests Include Reading (a lot), Web design (current getting an advanced certificate in Web designing and Graphics). Stock car racing and Writing short stories, which None have been published Yet! He is currently married, with 3 Kids and a Grand daughter.

John B

John B (a.k.a. discarnate, discarn8, and various alternatives thereof) is himself, no more, no less. Some of the things this involves (but by no means all of them - we do need to worry about the proton death of this branch of surreality, after all) include dogs, way-out science, battering computers until they behave, battering users just because, battering coworkers for even less motive, battering sensibilities for no reason whatsoever, random acts of creativity/sanity/kindness/oddity, the commission of poesy, etcetera. He can be found in front of various computers which are usually located in the Upstate NY region (NO! not New York City!), behind the wheel on roads in the same general region, asleep, eating, and/or surrounded by Labrador Retrievers.

Juan Ochoa

Juan is really a potted fern on the space station Freedom, telepathically controlling a human 29 year old in Colombia, South America. He hopes to instill a sense of uneasiness on his mammal host and have him move elsewhere on Terra. You can contact him at botch@007mundo.com, and see his channelled scribbles at pwp.007mundo.com/botch

M. Alan Kazlev - Founder

M.Alan Kazlev originated the Orion's Arm project, together with Donna Malcolm Hirsekorn, because he felt the time for a new and original, high quality and realistic "space opera" was well overdue.

He has loved science fiction since he was a kid; some of his fondest memories are of watching the original Star Trek when he was 10 or 11 years old. As a teenager he read most of the classic masters of the genre, before turning to explore other areas of knowledge. His various interests include hard science fiction, worldbuilding (of course!), futurism, anime, space opera of any kind, metaphysics, environmentalism, biology, palaeontology, meditation, and self-transformation. As the early "Director" of OA he constantly tried to ensure a balance between grand worldbuilding and the everyday human concerns, diamond-hard science & tech and imaginative speculation, and intelligent SF ideas and popular Sci Fi entertainment. His ambition is to establish OA as a powerful new constellation in the Geek Universe.

He is currently working on a sci fi novel set outside the OA universe.

Michael Walton

Michael Walton has been fascinated by the sciences since childhood — so it was only natural that he wound up working in film and theater. Fortunately, being surrounded by media types who wouldn't know good science fiction if it walked up and bit them hasn't dulled his appreciation for hard SF (but he still loves Farscape). Mike is also an avid consumer of role-playing games — the people-and-paper kind, not computer games — but is usually stuck being the GM. His OmniQuestTM universal role-playing system has been demonstrated at two GenCons and is a regular feature at gaming conventions in south Texas.

Pran Mukherjee

Pran Mukherjee: born, raised, and trapped in Michigan. I write because my muse (Melpomene) wakes me up at ridiculous hours of the night if I don't. I'm working on a Ph.D. in space instrumentation, primarily MEMS-based. I've left a programming career behind since I don't want to move to India in the next decade. And I can say what other people only think, the things that need to be said.

Tony Jones

Tony Jones is British, a software/systems engineer working for MBDA and living near Cambridge in the UK. He is married with two children. He has a Ph.D. in high temperature superconductivity at the Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Superconductivity at the University of Cambridge (where he was a member of Christ's College). Before that he completed a degree in physics at the University of Portsmouth (Portsmouth Polytechnic as it wasthen). And he was born in November 1966. Outside of work, he used to spend a lot of time on roleplaying games, which he both ran and played in but these days parenting takes up much of his time. He still has an extensive roleplaying website at www.wolfram.demon.co.uk/roleplaying_top.html. As for his religion (if anyone cares), he is an atheist.